Welcome to HVAC-Talk.com, a non-DIY site and the ultimate Source for HVAC Information & Knowledge Sharing for the industry professional! Here you can join over 150,000 HVAC Professionals & enthusiasts from around the world discussing all things related to HVAC/R. You are currently viewing as a NON-REGISTERED guest which gives you limited access to view discussions

To gain full access to our forums you must register; for a free account. As a registered Guest you will be able to:

Participate in over 40 different forums and search/browse from nearly 3 million posts.

Think you hit the nail on the head there r-12, you said engineer....that means never been in the field, they dont care how much of a pain in the as* it is too work on. Accually i think they try to engineer stuff to make it more diffucult to work on.....Eric

If you cant find the time to do it right the first time, then you wont find the time the second time around....

Originally posted by bowman Think you hit the nail on the head there r-12, you said engineer....that means never been in the field, they dont care how much of a pain in the as* it is too work on. Accually i think they try to engineer stuff to make it more diffucult to work on.....Eric

No kidding ... And then to get the spacers under the feet of that 27 hp unit .... I literally sat down on the crow bar just to lift the end up and the other guy slid the spacer under there .....
I mean .... that's a LOT A WEIGHT on that crow bar!!!

I have know a could of men who could have done the R & R on such a unit as that one ... all by themselves ... but it would not have been a pretty site ... nor a safe venture for sure.

This idea of using a chain fall and come alongs over the rack controller and down from the overhead struts ... this is just asking for trouble!

And the so called "Hussman-Lift" ... from what I have heard of it ... is a sad excuse for a compressor lift device.

I mean ... let's think this thru here ... we only need about an inch or two of vertical lift . Correct?
Then we need to run the load straight out at a 90 degree angle from the rack.
From there we can raise or lower the unit to place it onto a pallet or dolley.

Hmmmmm.... maybe a two inch "I"-beam, supported at both ends by tri-pods.
The beam would support a trolley. The trolley would hold the weight of the unit plus the XXX.

Possibly a miniature block and tackle.
Maybe the trolley could be manually moved in and out by hand.

Somebody has to come up with something safe as well as useful for this type of lifting.
Cause what I have been witnessing lately is pretty crude indeed!

A pallet jack with a stack of pallets usually works well. The last 15hp I changed, we used pallets and steel pipe / crowbar to slide it into place rather easily.

And R12, a version of the hoist you describe, is in the works and has been tested.

I've never thought of supermarket sized compressors to be a problem. When I first entered the trade I worked for an industrial ammonia company. Imagine the same messed up, tangled mechanical rooms, only the compressors are 3'x3' and weigh 1000 lbs, indoor vessels standing 12' tall, etc.

I find it pays to spend the extra 15 min. to find the easiest way, rather than being rammy. I'm lazy and proud of it when moving compressors.(meaning uninjured)

R- 12 I have never changed a compressor without a come along or maybe 2 come alongs on those Super-Pluss racks to which i believe you are refering to. I let the panels get banged up, but to hell with the panels just save your back. I have a few bars i can slide over the pipes or straps and chains or maybe a nice 5v belt to go around something, but NEVER try to force the things in. I love having to get into the compressor controll box once in the rack so I always pre-wire all electrical and make damn sure it is 100% correct before installing it.

Originally posted by frozensolid I am a firm believer in making it easy as you can. If you know a better way use it, if you need a better way invent it. If it were easy, you would see a lot more women in this trade.

Get your mind in the right place, and use it. Dave thinks its easy, for him it is. He makes it easy. Gerry boy has common sense, probably easy for him to.

Think! your mind is your most powerful tool.

Bottom line is get it done. In refrigeration, failure is an unrecognized concept.

AMEN!!!

Dave, I think your holdin out on me..... you got a technique and your not sharing it. I believe you want me to develope my own.
(thankx alot)

To the rest of ya, thanks for the input. Safety is the primary concern there doing the replacement. Like I said, one guy did get hurt last round. It was a miracle he didnt lose his hand.
Just got his pinkey finger smashed.
He'll be okay soon enough.

My point is, I just want slow and easy control over all that weight. I dont want jerky movements with an off balanced load.
I want balanced control. Slow and easy.
I want to be able to hold that unit steady and set er down exactely where I need it to be positioned.

With the current method used, we dont have to pry bar the thing in and out of place, just to put the feet bolts in is all.

The rest if done, as I said.... using a chain across the unit atached with two eye bolts screwed into the compressor body itself.
That part is pretty standard.
The next part, the one where the chain fall ataches, this is where the load becomes unbalanced.
And this is where I dont like it.

Originally posted by Dowadudda Boy R12, your doing a lot of whinning ass of late

I come home lookin like something the dog drug in.

My son asks what we're gonna do today? Heck, I'm just thankful to be home, outa traffic and off the roof.
AND ... someplace quiet!

Dave asked if I thought I could ever "sleep" in a motor room.

Well ... I sleep just about every where else I go. Why not?

This stuff is HRAD WORK!!! It's heavy, it's a bunch a tools almost everywhere you go if your gonna bolt or unbolt something....
And that's without talking about a unit replacement in a motor room!

This is hard work!

But there is a feeling of acomplishment when your finished!
There is a sence of pride in knowing you did a good job and even got it logged in the book upstairs.
And your paperwork is signed off.
And your tools are put away.
And your ready for that meal you forgot to eat hours ago. But heck, now it's time for dinner and your family is waiting for you to bring home some fixins...

But it's a lot better, easier than regular commercial work in many ways. Just like you all said.
And I love that part.